Radio has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Through listening to radio, I learned about the world around me, discovered new music, connected with people through fan communities, and even met local blind radio personalities who became role models.
I didn’t limit myself to AM and FM broadcast radio, though. I also loved listening to police calls, railroad communications, Civil Air Patrol, weather radio, and amateur radio, better known as ham radio.
Listening In
Of all the radio services I listened to, ham radio was probably the most interesting because the conversations had the most variety.
Police calls got repetitive. There were lots of license checks and officers being dispatched to specific addresses. Something interesting might happen once in a while, but most of the time it was routine.
Railroad communications were similar. Trains requested permission to move from point A to point B so dispatchers could make sure there wasn’t another train already occupying the section of track they wanted to use. In math class, calculating when Train A moving at 50 miles per hour will meet Train B moving at 30 miles per hour is interesting. In real life, when lives and cargo are involved, it’s less exciting.
Weather radio was fascinating during severe storms but not particularly interesting on sunny days.
Civil Air Patrol frequencies were rarely active.
Ham radio was different. Hams seemed to be talking all the time about almost anything imaginable.
More Than Just Radio
You could hear conversations about the technology of radio itself. Since I’ve always been interested in technology, I soaked up those discussions.
You could hear conversations about music. Some of the hams I later met played in bands or worked in live sound.
You could hear conversations about motorcycles, cars, antique tractors, or even collections of old fire trucks. Ham radio operators rarely have just one hobby.
And you could hear conversations about life.
You learned people’s names. You learned what they did for a living. You learned whether they were married and, if so, what their spouse’s name was. You learned about their kids, their jobs, their successes, and their frustrations.
The conversations felt real.
I wanted to participate.
The Morse Code Problem
The problem was that participating required a license.
At the time, getting a license meant learning Morse code.
Learning Morse code was hard.
I tried several times throughout my childhood and gave up just as many times.
Then, when I was in junior high, I met a high school student in my neighborhood who was heavily involved in Citizens Band, or CB, radio.
CB radio had some similarities to ham radio. The conversations were varied and often entertaining. Yes, there were truck drivers talking to other truck drivers, but there were also lots of junior high and high school kids on the air in my neighborhood.
I even managed to talk to someone in England once.
But CB radio also had a lot of chaos.
People transmitted just to make noise. People intentionally jammed each other. Some operators were friendly. Many were not.
The experience convinced me that I really wanted to become part of the ham radio community instead.
Getting Licensed
As I continued listening to ham radio, I started hearing operators who were my own age.
That finally gave me the motivation I needed.
I learned Morse code and signed up for an exam session during the winter of 1991 or 1992.
I passed the five-word-per-minute Morse code test.
I passed the Novice written exam.
Then I took what I thought was the Technician exam.
My mom drove me across town, read every question aloud, and filled in my answers. The process took hours.
As we worked through the test, I started struggling.
I didn’t recognize many of the questions.
This wasn’t what I’d studied for.
I was embarrassed.
My mom was irritated.
I did my best anyway and turned in the exam.
When the lead volunteer examiner came over, he apologized.
He had accidentally given me the General class exam instead of the Technician exam.
I’d failed—but only by one question.
One of the questions I missed involved a diagram. Because blind applicants were supposed to receive substitute questions for diagrams, they found a replacement question from that section of the question pool and asked it to me.
I answered correctly.
That meant I had passed the General exam.
Since General requires passing Technician first, they then gave me the Technician exam.
I’d actually studied for that one.
I passed easily.
At that point, I had passed every written exam necessary for a General class license. I had already passed the five-word-per-minute Morse code requirement and had one year to pass the thirteen-word-per-minute code test.
Three months later, my license arrived in the mail.
I could finally get on the air.
Keying the Microphone
I was terrified the first time I pressed the microphone button and spoke.
Would I be welcomed?
Or would I be rejected?
I didn’t know.
What happened instead was simple.
People talked to me.
They welcomed me.
My fear evaporated almost immediately.
Ham radio became a constant companion throughout junior high and high school.
Then life happened.
I went to college.
I started working.
I got married.
I raised a family.
Like many hobbies, ham radio slowly faded into the background until I eventually stopped operating altogether.
Coming Back
Recently, I’ve found my way back.
Last night I had my first rag chew—the ham radio term for a long conversation—since returning to the hobby.
It was delightful.
I talked to a man named Phil who lives in East Texas.
He’s 82 years old and is gradually losing his vision because of macular degeneration.
He loves motorcycles and fly fishing.
He thinks he may have to give up the motorcycles soon.
He was curious about how I live my life as a blind person because he suspects he may need some of those skills someday.
We talked for nearly an hour before both of us had to go feed our dogs.
It reminded me of why I fell in love with ham radio in the first place.
Isn’t Ham Radio Obsolete?
People often ask me whether ham radio is old technology.
The answer is: sort of.
Without amateur radio, many technologies we take for granted today might not exist in their current form.
Pagers, cordless phones, cell phones, vehicle radios, and countless other wireless technologies owe something to experimentation done by amateur radio operators.
Some hams enjoy operating vintage equipment in the same way that some people enjoy restoring classic cars.
Others work at the cutting edge.
They build and operate satellites.
They experiment with high-speed wireless networks.
They develop software-defined radios that use computer software to pull weak signals out of background noise more effectively than traditional hardware can.
They test new methods of transmitting data over radio frequencies.
Many young hams eventually become engineers who work on commercial communications systems.
Ham radio is both a living museum and a research laboratory.
Why Ham Radio Exists
The Federal Communications Commission identifies five purposes for amateur radio.
Put simply, they are:
- Providing emergency communications.
- Advancing the radio art.
- Developing communication and technical skills.
- Creating a pool of trained operators and technical experts.
- Promoting international goodwill.
Some hams focus on emergency communications. When disasters knock out infrastructure or overload cell phone networks, amateur radio operators can often establish communications where other systems fail. They help emergency responders coordinate relief efforts and help families learn that loved ones are safe.
Some hams focus on experimentation. They try new things, share what they learn, and contribute to advances that may eventually find their way into products used by the general public.
Some hams focus on communication itself. They learn how to communicate clearly, even under difficult conditions, and help newer operators develop those same skills.
And many hams simply enjoy meeting people from around the world. Long before the Internet existed, amateur radio provided ordinary people with one of the few opportunities to communicate directly with strangers in other countries. While the Internet has made that easier today, there is still something special about making those connections over the air.
The Best Part
I’ve dabbled in every aspect of ham radio.
I enjoy the technology.
I enjoy learning.
I enjoy the history.
But I think the best part is the way it connects people.
Yes, we can do that through the Internet, and I enjoy doing that too.
But there is something uniquely exciting about turning a radio dial or putting your voice on the air without knowing who might answer—or whether anyone will answer at all.
Somewhere out there could be a retiree in Texas, a teenager in Minnesota, a scientist in Germany, or someone sitting in a cabin deep in the woods.
You never quite know.
And somehow, despite all of our modern communication tools, the conversations still have more variety than just about any other form of communication I know.
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